Around the Clock Automation

Automated Casting Solutions

To better serve you, we’ve installed state-of-the-art tools and equipment to dramatically cut lead times, improve our precision, and keep production moving 24/7. Learn all about our process below.

First Steps of Precision Casting


The investment casting process, also known as lost-wax casting or precision casting, is a meticulous manufacturing technique dating back thousands of years, revered for its precision and versatility. Widely employed in numerous industries, investment casting enables the production of complex and intricately detailed components with exceptional accuracy and surface finish.

On this page, we’ll explore our process step by step; including highlights on the automation that we have brought into the process.

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Quoting
Quoting

Once you’ve submitted your project details, our team will work with you to finalize pricing, set a production schedule, and hammer out all the necessary details to kick off production.

Prototyping
Prototyping

Alongside our quoting process, our team will work with you to develop, refine, and finalize your part(s). During this time, we’ll also look at ways to optimize production, including where to gate your components, how many parts to place on each tree, and dozens of other optimizations for your production cycle.

First Article
First Article

With a completed design, we rush to produce ~20 first articles/prototypes of your part. During this 1st run, our production team is meticulously taking notes and ensuring precision. We ship 1st articles to you, where you can review them for any final tweaks before production. We typically produce 1st articles within two weeks!

Pre- Production

FAQs

FAQs on Pre-Production

This stage is all about setting up a seamless production run for your components. From simple refinements to production optimizations, it all happens here.

  • We primarily pour:

    -Low Carbon Steels

    -Tool Steels

    -PPT Hardening Stainless

    -Chromium Stainless (400 series)

    -Chromium-Nickel Stainless (300 -series)

    -Nickel Base Alloys

    -Cobalt Base Alloys

    -Copper Base Alloys

    Our international partners have additional capabilities including aluminum and titanium casts. Contact us for more details.

  • With a finalized design, we typically can deliver production first articles in 2 weeks. We can also rush-produce 3D prints of your components if you are still in the prototyping stage.

  • For investment castings, the industry standard is +/- 10 thousandths of an inch per inch. We will comfortably meet that standard. To learn more about tolerances and specifications, download our tolerance table here.

  • Lead times vary depending on our production queue, the number of parts you order, and how far along you are in the prototyping process.

    However, we always aim to keep our lead times in the “weeks” category instead of “months”. For our current lead times, contact us or subscribe to our newsletter!

Step 2: Wax Injection & Onboarding

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Create a Mold
Create a Mold

With your 3D model completed, we use it to create a mold that can be used time and time again to replicate wax models of your part. We keep these molds in our parts library to save time and cost on future production runs.

Gating & Trees
Gating & Trees

Our engineering and production teams works to figure out the most efficient “tree” for your parts. Trees allow us to cast multiple parts at the same time without sacrificing precision.

Wax Injection
Wax Injection

We now print high-quality, wax models of your part. These will be used to make a ceramic mold for your metal part in the next steps of the casting process.

Our state-of-the-art wax injection machines can produce multiple wax copies of your part every 2-5 minutes, significantly reducing turnaround times.

Inspection
Inspection

Our automated wax injection machines produce consistent, high-quality results. But as a part of our commitment to precision, we routinely inspect parts, trees, and gates for quality as wax continues printing.

Wax Injection + Die Making

FAQs

FAQs on Wax Injection

We’ve invested millions into our state-of-the-art wax injection machines to help keep your production moving like clockwork. Here are a few of our most asked questions about this process.

  • Our wax injection machines can print a single large part or dozens of smaller parts every 2-5 minutes. With multiple injectors in our arsenal, we produce thousands of molds daily!

  • It depends on the size of your part! We spend time developing gates and trees before production begins to optimize production. In short, we put as many parts in a tree as possible without sacrificing quality; this can mean just one large casting, or dozens of smaller casts.

  • We typically keep diecasts of parts for future production runs, but if you’d like we are happy to send you the dies at the end of production.

Part 3: Ceramic Slurry

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Ceramic Slurry
Ceramic Slurry

Wax clusters/trees from the previous step are mounted and dipped into a ceramic slurry. We've incorporated robotics into this process to allow for the 24-hour production of your parts!

This entire process is performed in a climate-controlled room to ensure consistent, quality castings.

Rainfall Sander
Rainfall Sander

In addition to dunking in the ceramic slurry, parts are cascaded with additional materials to create a strong shell for casting. Our robotics again allow for rapid, consistent production compared to traditional hand-dipped methods.

Conveyor
Conveyor

Post dip, the gates are attached to our massive conveyor system, where they dry. This also gives the parts a chance for a fun trip around the facility before having molten metal poured into them!

The dipping/cascade process repeats until the ceramic shells are completed, strong, and ready for casting.

Staging & Inspection
Staging & Inspection

Finished ceramic shells are hung to dry, inspected for quality, and staged for processing in the flashfire.

Slurry + Conveyor

FAQs

FAQs on the Slurry Process

Automating this step allows us to be more precise than ever, creating narrower tolerance windows, less human error, and the capability to produce around the clock. Learn more about this step in these FAQs.

  • This depends on the size of the part! Our engineering team works hand-in-hand with the production team to get your parts through this part quickly while still providing the highest quality results.

  • This is one of the most time-intensive steps in production, but our robotics allow for a 24/7 production cycle for your parts, meaning quicker lead times and a much faster time to market.

  • The slurry is made up of a binding liquid combined with small ceramic pieces (typically silica, alumina, or similar).

Part 4: Dewax & Heating

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Flashfire Dewaxing
Flashfire Dewaxing

Parts are placed into a flashfire where the wax moldings are melted away and recycled for future use. The resulting hollow ceramic shells are then prepped for metal pouring.

Burnout & Heating
Burnout & Heating

Next, we move the ceramic shells into the foundry for metal pouring. Once here, they are placed into industrial ovens and superheated to remove any residual wax; this also gets them to temperature before the metal pouring.

Flashfire + Casting Prep

FAQs

What Happens to the Wax from an
Investment Casting Project?

We know that foundries aren't the first thing that comes to mind when envisioning green manufacturing, but that doesn't stop us from doing what we can.

After flashfire treatment, we recycle or repurpose 99% of our wax for future use. Recycling our wax is just one of the ways we focus on sustainability in our investment casting.

Part 5: Metal Pouring

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Heating Your Metal
Heating Your Metal

Your selected metal is heated in a crucible and prepared for pouring. We consistently monitor temperatures for consistent, precise results.

Pouring Metal
Pouring Metal

Foundry staff remove shells from the oven and then quickly and precisely filled with molten metal. Our gate and tree work from the previous steps allows us to cast multiple parts simultaneously while maintaining razor-sharp precision.

Cooling + Shell Removal
Cooling + Shell Removal

Your parts are left to cool, and the ceramic shell gets removed. During this process, any imperfections are forced up and out through the gate and tree rather than remaining on your part.

Once cooled, a solidified, nearly completed part is ready for the next steps.

Pouring + Shell Removal

FAQs

FAQs on Metal Pouring

Molten metal is a beautiful thing. Learn more about this process with some of our FAQs!

  • We primarily pour:

    -Low Carbon Steels

    -Tool Steels

    -PPT Hardening Stainless

    -Chromium Stainless (400 series)

    -Chromium-Nickel Stainless (300 -series)

    -Nickel Base Alloys

    -Cobalt Base Alloys

    -Copper Base Alloys

    Our international partners have additional capabilities including aluminum and titanium casts. Contact Us for more details!

  • Most of the ceramic sluffs off as the metal cools and solidifies. The remaining bits of ceramic are broken off as part of the finishing process.

  • Our ovens typically heat the ceramic shells to between 1000-2000°F. Each metal is heated to its specific melting point for the desired application!

Part 6: Metal Finishing

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Grinding/Sanding
Grinding/Sanding

Gates and imperfections are ground/sanded away by our robotics and specialized fixtures, allowing for rapid turnaround and extreme precision compared to traditional manual methods.

Inspection + Testing
Inspection + Testing

During our first article run, we inspect every part with precision instruments and by hand to ensure each component meets our standards and your exact specifications. During production, we continue to monitor every step for quality.

Once finished, we provide in-house testing and are willing to work with you for any additional tests and certifications your parts may require.

Finishing + Shipping
Finishing + Shipping

We provide several finishing services to ensure your part is ready for market, including machining, heat treating, testing, and more.

When work finishes, your order is shipped directly to you!

Inspection, Finishing Touches, & Shipping

FAQs

Finishing FAQs

This is where the magic happens! Your parts have gone from a computer screen to a ready-for-market product. Learn more about this process and the services we offer below.

  • We offer heat treating, machining, testing, and 3D printing services. If you have additional needs, let us know! We’re willing to adapt to whatever needs your project calls for.

  • Yes! We’re willing to ship your parts wherever you need them.

  • We take numerous steps to ensure that each part shipped meets your exact specifications and strive to deliver rapid first articles so you can verify the accuracy of your components from the get-go.

    If something isn’t right, we’ll fix it before it ever gets shipped. Rest assured, we’ve got you covered with 100% satisfaction guaranteed.

Let’s Get Started

All Your Metalworking Needs

Casting and prototyping are what we do! Whether you have a market-tested product or are still in development, our team of experts is ready to get you rolling. Contact us today!